As counter-cultural as it may seem, I do very little shopping in Florence, one of the premier shopping cities of the world. This probably has something do to with my age and stage in life; theplethora of leather stalls hold little attraction anymore; I don’t need anything nor do I feel pulled to buy gifts; I’m trying to let go of stuff, knowing that simplicity means fewer chattels. My shopping days are over.That being said, I surprised myself in April by buying a painting. I walked into Art Masri Studio at Borgo Ognissanti 63R, and immediately fell in love with a painting of the Ponte Vecchio (‘The Bridge’ from the Cubism Series), and with Masri himself. We talked about how he paints with a pallet knife, about the energy in the painting and the energy between me and the canvass, me and Florence. I told him I had to think about it. “We don’t need another painting on our walls,” I emailed my husband, “but I need this one in my heart.”“If you really want it, buy it,” he replied. YES! The next day when I returned to the studio, it was closed. I peered in; the painting was gone. Had someone bought it? I walked away. I guessed it wasn’t meant to me. Out of sight, but not out of mind. When I walked in a few days later, Marsi pulled my painting out from behind some others. “I hid it. I was saving it for you. I knew you were meant to have it. It’s the energy.” Four weeks later it arrived by FedEx. The very next day Jim found the perfect frame at the ‘put and take’ at the dump. It was meant to be. It’s the energy. http://www.artworksmasri.com